Sagamiya

Rating: OK
Meal:  After Dinner Snack
Price:  640 yen
Payment:  Cash Only
Dishes:  Chicken, chicken balls, chicken tails, pork, pork liver, pork heart (8 sticks total)
English Menu: Yes

Smoking: Probably not (it's outside)

The famous "standing" yakitori stand that most everyone has seen at one point or another in Yokosuka is called Sagamiya.  It's down one of the tiny back alley ways that are inside one of the blocks beside Blue Street.  The cool thing about this place is that they have a yakitori roasting machine that churns out yakitori and keeps the trays filled, and the prices down (80 yen a stick as they proudly declare).

Personally, while I enjoy yakitori, it's not a favorite.  Chicken on a stick can be very good, but yakitori is usually a bit plain tasting to me.  I like middle eastern shishtawouk (yoghurt marinated chicken) for my pick for best roasted chicken on a stick ever.  Unfortunately shishtawouk is somewhat rare in my life now, so now and then I decide to go for some yakitori.   When we lived in Kurihama, there was a yakitori stand in the market outside the train station that sold cheap yakitori late at night and I would sometimes stop by there and grab some on the way home.  I especially like the alternating chicken with garlic cloves.  But sadly there doesn't seem to be an equivalent in the Yokosuka area, so you actually have to go to a yakitori restaurant and eat there to get your fix.

Sagamiya has the benefit of being a standing yakitori stand.  There are seats inside, but they are usually full.  But outside there is a counter with several types of yakitori (not just chicken) just sitting there for the eating.  You sidle up, pick a spot in front of one of the little cups, and start chowing down.  As you eat, you put your used sticks in the cup.  When done, you gather the sticks up and hand them to the guy at the end who tells you how much you owe.  Pay him in cash and keep walking.

It's an ok spot, and there is certainly better yakitori in town.  But nothing quite so convenient.